Legendary Switcheroo
by Vinylshadow
Summary: When Red, Green and Blue received their starter pokemon, they expected the usual trio of Grass, Water, and Fire types. Arceus, on the other hand, had another idea...


**Just a random little idea that came to mind from a little "What if?" scenario.**

 **Also, Blue and Green are using their original Japanese names, hence why Green is a guy and Blue is a girl.**

* * *

Red and Green stood before Professor Oak within the latter's laboratory in the small coastal town of Pallet.

"Well boys," Oak said, clapping his hands together. "Today's a big day for the both of you. First, happy eleventh birthday to you, Red."

Red ducked his head, ears burning as Green draped an arm over his shoulder, grinning like a loon.

"Second, I've called you here to give you a pokémon."

Both boys perked up, standing to attention as their eyes traveled to three poké balls sitting on a desk beside Oak.

"I'll let you choose first, Red," Green said, waving the other boy forward. Red rolled his eyes and examined the three poké balls closely.

The first was squirtle, a water-type; the second was charmander, a fire-type and the third was bulbasaur, a grass-type with a poison subtype.

Red and Green had both decided on their starters months ago and Red's hand closed around the middle poké ball while Green took the first.

"Fine choices, both of you," Oak said, before holding up two red devices. "Take these with you as well. They're the latest model of the pokédex and should be most helpful on your journey."

The boy's took the dexes alongside five empty poké balls and tucked them into their bags.

"Well boys, you've been waiting for this day for years. Where do you plan to go next?" Oak asked.

"The Pokémon League!" Green said, eyes gleaming. "I'm going to become the strongest trainer, me and my squirtle!"

"So you plan on taking the gym challenge?" Oak asked, stroking his chin. "Then you may want to head north, to Pewter City. There's a gym there. Or perhaps catch a boat south, to Cinnabar Island."

"I heard they use rock-types up north and fire-types down south," Green said. "That's why I chose squirtle. To give myself options. Poor Red, either way you go, you're starting with a disadvantage."

Red shrugged, idly stroking charmander's poké ball with a smile.

"Guess I'll go north then," Green said, turning to go. "May as well form up a team before taking on the tougher gyms. Seeya round, Red."

Green took a few steps before pausing. Turning back around, he pointed at Red. "How about this: let's have a pokémon battle. Whomever wins can get a town map from my sister."

Oak arched an eyebrow. "Doesn't she have multiple maps, since she helped make them?"

"Grandpa!" Green growled. "Stop ruining my fun!"

Oak rolled his eyes. "Right, right. Have your battle. Not in the lab!" he added as the boys grabbed their poké balls. "Outside, where you won't break anything."

Red and Green exchanged glances with matching grins, remembering the times they'd broken Oak's equipment in their roughhousing.

A few minutes later saw the three outside on the battlefield beside Oak's lab.

"Alright boys, you know the rules. When one pokémon is unable to battle, the battle is over. Begin!"

"Alright squirtle, show Red the power of type advantage!" Green said, throwing the poké ball into the air. Across the field, Red tossed his own.

Two pokémon materialized from the white light spat out by the poké balls and landed on the field.

Neither of which were a squirtle or a charmander.

Green stared at the pokémon he had sent out in confusion while Red studied his own curiously.

"Those are... Darkrai and Victini," Oak said, jaw dropping open in disbelief. "But...what? How?"

 _"Simple,"_ a voice replied, echoing in their heads through the power of telepathy, _"our parent switched us with the pokémon inside the balls. They're safe, don't worry."_

Green frowned. "Was that you talking?" he asked the pokémon in front of him warily. Darkrai turned to face him, tilting its head.

"Yes, although I suppose this would be a little more convenient for you?" it asked, speaking physically.

Across the field, Red knelt down before Victini and extended a hand towards the pokémon, who leaped at the boy, wrapping its arms around Red's torso and nuzzled into his chest.

"Finally!" the pokémon chirped. "We get our own trainers!"

Red blinked in confusion, holding the pokémon gently. Victini stared up at him.

"You don't talk much, do you?" it asked. "That's fine. I am _lousy_ with conversation."

"Your own trainers?" Oak asked, looking between the two. "What does that mean?"

"Arceus wanted us to get out and about some more, and since every time we go out on our own, some power-hungry lunkhead tries capturing us, it decided to give us to trainers so that wouldn't be an issue. Of course, there's still trainers who tried using us as weapons and...they tended to wind up turned inside-out, or thrown into the sun, or plunged to the bottom of the sea without protective equipment," Darkrai said. "I trust that won't be an issue here?"

Green and Red shook their heads simultaneously.

"Awesome!" Victini cheered. "Can we go now? I wanna do things!"

"I do believe our trainers wanted to battle," Darkrai pointed out. "Shall we do that?"

"Sure," Victini said, before glancing at Red. "Well, are you ready, partner?"

Red nodded and Green smirked.

"Let's show them how it's done, Darkrai. Use...uh...whatever, I guess?"

"We'll go over my moves later," Darkrai said with a sigh, before firing off a Dark Pulse.

Victini dodged skyward before bursting into flame, then shot the fire at Darkrai, who sank into the ground to avoid it.

Victini hovered in the air, warily eying the ground before the flaps on its head ignited.

Darkrai burst from the ground, only to be slammed back into it by the diminutive pokémon with enough force to shatter the entire battlefield.

When the dust cleared, Darkrai was out cold.

Oak blinked slowly before calling out, "Darkrai is unable to battle. The victory goes to Red and Victini!"

"Whoo!" Victini said, flipping in the air before flashing its own pair of v-signs. "That was fun!"

"No fair using your signature moves," Darkrai grumbled, pulling itself out of the ground and brushing itself off. "This would've gone differently had I used Dark Void."

"Yeah, yeah," Victini said flippantly. "Keep telling yourself that."

"Hmph," Darkrai muttered, floating over to Green who took a step back warily. "Let's go, human. Your league challenge awaits, yes? We also have much to discuss about using my moves and abilities effectively in battle."

"I..uh...yes sir, Darkrai sir," Green squeaked. Darkrai snorted, crossing its arms.

"Just Darkrai will do. I am at your command, not you at mine. I am your pokémon to use as you see fit, as long as it does not threaten my creator's work or puts the world in jeopardy."

"O-okay," Green said, taking a breath. "My name is Green. I look forward to learning more about you."

"Much better," Darkrai said, before levitating its poké ball from Green's belt and recalled itself. Green awkwardly caught the ball and stared at it for a moment before tucking it away.

"Alright then, smell ya later, Red. Go get your map from my sister. Next time we battle, it'll be different, just you wait!"

Red watched Green run off and then looked at Victini who was still enjoying its victory. Noticing the boy's attention, the pokémon came over to him.

"Name's Victini, the Victory pokémon. Your name is Red? Fitting, very fitting. I'm sure we'll get along great. Unless you have designs to end the world or something. You don't, right? I'd hate to have to kill you. You seem nice. Are you nice? Can we go now? I wanna see more of this region."

Red held his hands up to stem the rapid flow of words from the pokémon before smiling sheepishly.

"Ah, I can see you're not a bad human. That's good, that's good. Last time I was with a human, we blew up a city. In Hoenn, I think. You wanna blow up a city?"

Red shook his head rapidly.

"Good, because I killed my last trainer along with the city," Victini said cheerfully. "Let's go, let's go!"

Red glanced at Oak, who shrugged, before pulling out Victini's poké ball and recalled it.

"Good luck, Red," Oak said. "Give me a call if you need anything."

Red waved farewell and headed north.

* * *

Red and Victini strolled through Viridian Forest, with the former listening to the latter as they talked about what they were capable of.

Red held up a hand to silence Victini as he heard something and he crouched as the bushes rustled.

A caterpie came into view, crawling as fast as it could in a blind panic. Behind it came a pikachu, who threw a bolt of lightning at its pursuer before running to the caterpie's side.

A pidgeotto came into view, flying over the fleeing duo before landing in front of them, spreading its wings to block their path.

"Ooh," Victini said, coming to rest on Red's shoulder. "I've never seen pokémon hunt each other up close like this. Fascinating."

Red glanced at it thoughtfully before tapping it gently to get its attention. He then pointed at the pidgeotto, pulling out a poké ball.

"You wanna catch it?" Victini asked. "That should be be easy. Before or after it eats its prey though?"

Red pulled out two more poké balls and Victini let out a whistle.

"Catch 'em all, eh? Shouldn't be too difficult..."

Flying forward, it slammed into the pidgeotto, who fell back with a squawk. Before the pikachu and caterpie could react, Victini ensnared them within a ring of fire, causing the caterpie to clamber up on the pikachu's head to escape the flames.

Taking aim, Red threw the three poké balls and Victini extinguished the flames before the forest caught fire. The balls beeped successfully and Red picked them up, taking note of which was which and tucked them away.

"Not bad, not bad," Victini said, flying around Red. "Already four pokémon under your belt and you're not even to your first gym. Even though I could probably handle them all without issue, but a good trainer uses the right pokémon for the job. Or whatever they feel like using, I guess. You're such an interesting species."

Red glanced up at the sky, where the sun was slowly heading for the horizon. There was still plenty of daylight left and he wanted to at least get to Viridian before nightfall. Victini flew up above the trees and pointed him in the direction of Viridian.

At least Red hoped so, since the last time it had checked, Victini had sent them back towards Pallet. Viridian's intricate layout had always been a sore topic among travelers and Red was starting to see why.

Luckily, they made it out without issue and soon found themselves back on the road to Viridian.

"New places! New sights! New sounds!" Victini said happily, before wrinkling its nose. "Dunno about the smell though. Could use some work."

Red snorted as they approached the pokémon center. Before they could enter, the doors burst open and someone slammed into Red, driving him backwards. Victini caught him before he fell and the duo glanced at the person that had bumped into them, who was grumbling to themselves.

"Blasted Kantonians," the blue-haired trainer said, brushing his jacket off. "Never watching where they're going-"

"Excuse me, but it was _you_ who bumped into _us,_ " Victini pointed out with a frown.

"Whatever - wait," the trainer said, narrowing his eyes. "What's _that_ pokémon?"

"Name's Victini. Nice to meetcha."

"You're its trainer, right? Name's Damian. What do you want for it?"

Red's eyes flashed and he pulled Victini away with a glower.

"Ah. I see. A pity," Damian said with a sigh. "All I have is a worthless charmander anyway. They're a dime a dozen though, so I can see why you wouldn't need one. Besides, it looks like you already have a fire-type with what you have. Later then, kid."

Red and Victini watched Damian leave before heading into the center themselves.

"I _hate_ people like that," Victini said, ears flickering with blue fire. "Was tempted to incinerate him, but his poké balls would've been caught in the blast and they've done nothing wrong. I don't suppose it's too late to go and find him again? Take his pokémon from him?"

Red shook his head and turned his other pokémon over to Nurse Joy. He offered Victini its poké ball and it joined the other three. Red then wandered around the pokémon center's lobby, examining the newspaper which had a headline about Team Rocket yet again. Red's knuckles went white as he gripped the paper and read the article carefully, taking note that Team Rocket had been spotted in Cerulean City.

A six-note chime signaled that Red's pokémon were healed and he took the four balls from the nurse with a polite bow of his head.

Going outside, Red released his pokémon, then stepped in front of pidgeotto as the bird glared at pikachu and caterpie. The bird gazed into the boy's eyes and then stepped back, folding its wings against itself. It cooed at pikachu and caterpie, neither of which seemed reassured.

Red sighed, smiling slightly before glancing at Victini, who seemed lost in thought. It glanced at Red, then at the other pokémon before introducing itself to them properly.

Once introductions were out of the way, Red recalled pidgeotto, caterpie and pikachu before turning to Victini. The pokémon seemed content to stay out of its poké ball so that it could see the sights and it gestured to a road leading west.

"Sign says the League is that way. Perhaps we should see where we're headed before going to Pewter?"

Red thought about it before nodding. Victini settled on his shoulder and they headed west.

* * *

Oak stared at the last poké ball sitting on the desk curiously, wondering if its occupant had also changed, but before he could check, the door to his lab opened and someone entered.

Turning to see a young girl leaning against the door catching her breath, Oak smiled.

"I was beginning to wonder where you were, Blue. Red and Green have already left north towards Pewter City."

Blue wheezed, clutching her chest before gasping out, "Sorry for being late. Couldn't...decide on what to...wear."

Finally getting her breathing under control, she stood up, brushing herself off. Idly adjusting her red skirt, she looked around the lab. "I'm not late, am I?"

Oak shook his head before glancing at the last poké ball warily. "No, but...something is off today."

Blue tilted her head, hat falling over her eyes. Lifting it, she asked, "What's the matter?"

Picking up the poké ball, Oak walked past Blue and opened the door. "Red and Green each got a different pokémon, as I thought they would, however, the pokémon in the balls were not the pokémon known as the Kanto starters. Which means that the last, which should be bulbasaur, is instead..."

Tossing the ball into the air, Oak and Blue watched as the white light materialized, before dispersing to reveal a floating blue feline.

"A shiny Mew," Oak said, throwing up his hands. "Of course. Why not."

Blue giggled, staring up at the pokémon. "I think it's adorable. Hey there!" she called, getting the Mew's attention.

"Ah, so _that's_ what Arceus was talking about," Mew said, flying down to stare at Blue. "So, are you to be my trainer?"

Blue blinked in surprise. "Uh...I mean..." She glanced at Oak, who was wearing a weary, yet resigned look. "If that's alright with you," she said, turning her attention back to Mew.

"I've got no problem with it," Mew said. "Your name?"

"Blue."

Mew snorted and Oak smothered a laugh, causing Blue to look between the two inquisitively.

"You, a human named Blue, have been partnered with a shiny Mew," Mew said, spreading its pale blue paws. "Do you see why I think it's funny?"

"...Oh, a blue Mew," Blue said before facepalming. "Boy, that's gonna get real old, real fast."

Collecting a pokédex and poké balls from Oak, Blue set off towards Viridian Forest.

Sunlight shone through the canopy, bathing the ground below in dappled shade. Blue and Mew walked along the path, conversing. Mew perked up at something and flew off. Hesitating for a moment, Blue followed it into the undergrowth.

To Blue's surprise, the foliage parted before her without her touching it and she soon entered a clearing. In the center was a large quadruped pokémon and Mew flew towards it.

"Xerneas!" the feline called, getting the pokémon's attention. "What are you doing here?"

"Helping the pokémon of this forest," it replied. "And got captured for my efforts," it added sourly.

"And you didn't kill them the second they released you?" Mew asked.

"Well," Xerneas said, glancing down. "That's the problem."

Mew and Blue stared at the young blond-haired girl curled up at Xerneas' feet.

"She's not the one who captured you," Mew guessed. "Somehow she got your poké ball away from whoever it was."

Xerneas nodded. "And I can't destroy the ball without waking her and I don't feel like being mean just for that, so I'm waiting for her to get up."

Blue knelt by the girl's side and checked her carefully before shaking her head with a frown. "She's been hit with Sleep Powder somewhere between getting your ball and now. She's not going to wake for a while yet. Unless either of you know Uproar or Wake-Up Slap." Checking her bag, Blue grumbled at her lack of Awakenings.

"Move aside," Mew said. "It just so happens I do know Wake-Up Slap. One of the many perks of being an ancestral pokémon."

Its paws glowed white and it lightly slapped the girl across the face a few times. The girl yelped, flailing her arms, driving Mew back.

"Yow! That hurts!" The girl snapped her mouth shut as she noticed Blue, then glanced at the floating Mew, then at Xerneas. She leaped to her feet and glared at Blue. "If you're here for this one," she growled, pointing at Xerneas, "you can forget it. I'm not letting the likes of you take it!"

Blue held her hands up soothingly. "Relax, I'm not with whomever captured Xerneas. I'm just a trainer passing through. I don't suppose you still have Xerneas' ball? We can destroy it and let Xerneas be free."

"I do have it," the girl said, crossing her arms. "But I'm not going to destroy it. Not yet, anyway," she added hastily as Mew bared its teeth in a growl. "If it gets destroyed now, what's to stop someone from catching it before Xerneas gets back to wherever it came from?"

"Kalos," Xerneas supplied. "And...that is not a bad idea. I don't mind being your pokémon for a while. Arceus did tell us all to experience the world from up close for a change. It's why we're able to be caught at all, actually."

Blue stood up and helped the girl to her feet, steadying her as she wobbled.

"What's your name?" Blue asked.

"Yellow," the girl replied. "I was born here."

Blue's eyes widened. "I'd heard rumors that some kids were sometimes born in the forests... Never thought I'd actually meet one of you. What's it like?" she asked eagerly.

Yellow's stomach growled loudly and Blue chuckled as the other girl blushed. "Well, we can talk about it over some lunch, if you'd like?"

"I'd like that _very_ much," Yellow said gratefully. "As long as it's not rattata, I'll eat just about anything."

Blue stared at Yellow's serious expression and winced.

"Come on, let's get you some _real_ food."

* * *

Silver stared at the poke ball he had managed to swipe from Elm Labs and smirked.

Now that he had a pokémon of his own, he could finally strike back at his father and make a name for himself.

"Alright, Cyndaquil, come on out," he said, tossing the ball into the air.

What materialized was most certainly _not_ a cyndaquil.

 **"Of all the trainers I expected,** _ **you**_ **were not one of them,"** Arceus said as it materialized. **"You do not have the heart needed to wield my power, but...I have something else in mind."**

Another pokémon appeared in a flash of light and Silver stared at the odd helmeted quadruped dubiously.

 **"Silver, meet Type: Null, a failed prototype modeled after myself and was to be used to destroy creatures from another dimension,"** Arceus said. **"It will eventually evolve into an even stronger form, but how to do that is something you'll have to find out for yourself. I wish you the best of luck."**

"Wait-!" Silver said, but Arceus had already vanished and the boy stared at the pokémon, who was sizing him up as well.

"...Hmph," Silver said, crossing his arms. "Arceus said you are strong, and that's all that matters to me. I will find out how to make you evolve and we will be unstoppable. Is that acceptable?"

The pokémon didn't say anything, but it took a step closer to Silver and lightly pushed its head into the boy's chest. Silver frowned before glancing around. Seeing nobody, he placed his hands on the helmet and gently lifted the pokémon's head to stare into its eyes.

"Type: Null doesn't suit you though. A powerful pokémon needs a powerful name. Something memorable... My name is Silver and you are my ally. Silvally."

Silvally let out a soft growl and idly clawed the ground, tail wagging.

"Come on then, let's get going," Silver said, turning and putting his hands in his pockets as Silvally trotted after him.

* * *

Giovanni laced his fingers together and gazed over them at the pair of Team Rocket grunts who stood at attention in front of his desk.

"I suppose I don't have to tell you why you are here," Giovanni said, causing the grunts to flinch.

"Something to do with the pokémon we brought you?" the purple-haired grunt asked.

"We noticed some odd readings, but lacked the equipment to verify our suspicions," his magenta-haired partner said. "Nor did we want to release it in transit."

"It's good that you didn't, because you wouldn't be standing here now," Giovanni said, tapping a button on his desk, causing the screen behind him to come to life, showing readings from the poké balls the duo had retrieved from Johto. "Do you recognize these pokémon?"

"Ho-Oh, Kyogre and...I do believe that is Virizion," the male grunt said, eyes going wide. "Any idea what's going on? Sir?"

"I do not know, but if starter pokémon are being replaced with legendary pokémon, that's going to cause havoc with our distribution centers. You two are to report to the communications lab and contact the Kanto centers. See what the damage is and tell the others to temporarily shut down the centers while we try to puzzle out what's going on. Dismissed."

"Sir!" the two snapped a salute before leaving. Giovanni leaned back in his chair and ran a hand over his face with a sigh. Bad enough Team Rocket had made the papers; now they'd be watched much closer than he would've liked. If news that Team Rocket was apparently giving out Legendary pokémon got out to new trainers, there'd be chaos and profits would take a hit.

Stroking his persian's head, Giovanni turned his chair to gaze at the screen showing the legendary pokémon. Running his eyes over the data, his mind churned on how he could get rid of them without drawing excess attention to himself. Probably give them to undercover Rocket Agents near the Cerulean, Saffron and Lavender activity areas.

Calling up a list of agents, Giovanni got to work.

* * *

 **Don't expect this to update often.**


End file.
